The Singapore Prize, a biennial book award that celebrates literary achievement in the country’s four main languages, has announced this year’s shortlist for 2024. In a change from past years, where fiction competed with poetry, a separate category for Chinese-language works is this year included in the selection.
Five writers have been shortlisted in two or more categories. Among them is Clara Chow, who was nominated in the English fiction, English creative nonfiction and Chinese poetry categories, making her the first writer in the prize’s history to appear on all three shortlists at once.
She is a past winner of the Singapore Literature Prize and has written several novels. She has also won the Cultural Medallion and the Singapore Youth Literary Awards. In addition to her work as an author, Chow is a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore and has worked extensively in the area of post-colonial literature.
The prize, mooted in 2014 by NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani in a column for The Straits Times, is awarded to publications that have made an impact on the understanding of Singapore’s history. Mahbubani was a member of the jury that selected this year’s winning entry, Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800 by archaeologist John Miksic.
Mahbubani says he is considering expanding the types of works that can be considered for the prize. He uses the movie 12 Years a Slave as an example, arguing that some historical subjects may be told more effectively through fiction and other formats, especially those that appeal to a wider audience than just academics.
Currently, the prize is open to books published between June 1, 2021 and May 31, 2024. They can be either fiction or non-fiction, but must contain clear historical themes in order to qualify for consideration. The work must be authored or co-authored and published in the form of a book.
The NUS Singapore History Prize was established in 2014. It was created to encourage a wider engagement with Singapore’s history and to make the complexities and nuances of Singapore’s unique history more accessible to non-academic audiences. The prize aims to develop an appreciation of Singapore’s rich heritage, and to generate a sense of pride in Singapore’s shared history as a nation.
As part of a wider initiative to accelerate and scale the most promising environmental solutions, Prince William will travel to Singapore this month for the third annual Earthshot awards ceremony. The event will bring together global leaders, businesses and investors to take on the “moonshots” needed to protect and restore our planet. More information about this and other events associated with the prize can be found here.
